The present invention relates to cameras.
In particular, the present invention relates to single lens reflex cameras and more specially to the mirror and associated structure of a single lens reflex camera.
In conventional single lens reflex cameras it is usually impossible to incorporate a mirror of sufficient dimensions. The size of the mirror is necessarily limited by the rear end of the particular objective which is used with a camera. As a result, the amount of light reflected by the mirror to the viewfinder of the camera is in general less than desired and the image seen in the viewfinder is partially darkened because of these deficiencies in the mirror dimensions. This phenomenon, known as the mirror deficiency, is well known.
In order to avoid this problem is has already been proposed to provide various mirror driving mechanisms. For example there is one known mechanism wherein a relatively large mirror is driven around a rotatable shaft which is itself displaced during the driving operation. According to another known construction the rotatable shaft about which the mirror turns is first displaced and then the mirror is turned. Also there is a mechanism according to which the mirror is divided into main and auxiliary mirrors with the main mirror being turned upwardly while the auxiliary mirror is turned downwardly. Howevr, all of these known mechanisms have disadvantages in that the required operations are complex and unreliable, these conventional mirror driving mechanisms generally utilizing complicated linkage and cam mechanisms.